


Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves

by theprincelyclotpole



Category: 17th Century CE RPF, 18th Century CE RPF, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: ??? but in the third person???, Drabble, Falling Out of Love, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, but it's fairly heavily implied, ish, kind of, sort of?? not really, stream of conciousness, there's no dialogue in this but it's not all narration either, this is kind of sad, this is quite short considering it spans like 30 years, this major character death is only implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-06-05 04:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6688540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprincelyclotpole/pseuds/theprincelyclotpole
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are ten things you need to know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves

**Author's Note:**

> Don't hesitate to let me know if I made any errors in grammar, spelling, etc. I really do want to know! Any other comments are greatly appreciated too.

i. When Burr first sees Hamilton, the cunning hits him first. It’s _obvious_ , blatant intelligence so raw that it is painful to look at. This man will be the catalyst, Burr thinks, to his fame. He pushes away the second nagging thought, but it remains in the back of his mind. _Or your ruin_.

ii. Hamilton is a whirlwind, relentless and beautiful and everything Burr thought that he would never want. He is the fire eating up anything in its path, and he is the first plant growing in its wake. When they kiss Burr tastes revolution, and maybe a bit of fear. A man who carries the world is easily broken.

iii. Never did Burr anticipate this, lying under Hamilton and whispering his name into the heavy darkness. It goes against the very fabric of his morals—Aaron, be silent, be strong, don't succumb to temptation—but what has he ever been if not a liar, a hypocrite? _A good man_ , Hamilton says in his mind, and Burr thinks that maybe he can be saved. Hamilton is his absolution.

iv. They blame it on the heat, the battle high, the alcohol. Flimsy excuses become flimsier, but all Burr cares for is the taste of Hamilton's lips. Hamilton, who is a loaded gun—spontaneous, dangerous, ready to kill and poised to fight, a string pulled so taut that he might break at any moment with no warning or indication. Neither of them says the word _love_ , but neither of them doubts it.

v. Men die around Burr every day, but he has made himself numb to the pain. He sees the world not through rose-tinted lenses but through jade, taking in the carnage without truly processing it, rushing headlong into danger to keep his mind off the death. This war is a bloodbath, with no rhyme or reason and seemingly no end. Hamilton keeps him grounded through it all, and he has never been more grateful for the solace a warm body provides. He wishes it would last, but he knows that it can’t.

vi. The end of the war brings no joy to Burr. He is devoid of emotion, empty of any last vestiges of hope. Hamilton excels at law practice, beating out lawyers of ten years at the bar, and through it all Burr is only a step behind him. In this, a step is all that it takes for him to be ignored, raw ambition bursting out of every crevice of his soul and still not good enough. Hamilton is motivated by his passion, but Burr is motivated only by his desire to rise to the top. Next to Hamilton he seems like nothing, and that is what spurs him on. This seems like the beginning of the end.

vii. Words are Hamilton’s weapons, and he treats them like blades. Eloquent pamphlets cut their way through Burr’s reputation, tattering it at the edges until all that is left is an empty shell of what once was a great lawyer. When Burr walks through the streets he is mocked by strangers, men hurling insults at him like stones. He has never had Hamilton’s way with words, and now he regrets it more than ever. Hamilton hits him where it hurts most, but he can do the same. Hamilton has always worn his heart on his sleeve.

viii. Hamilton’s honor is easy to attack. Sly digs, knifelike, break through the armor that he had carefully put up, a facade to make him seem untouchable. Burr has never been fooled. He writes letter after letter, and watches their relationship deteriorate right before his eyes. It had once been so beautiful, the eye of the storm in which thousands of men died. Burr should have known that Hamilton would bring nothing but destruction.

ix. Affairs of honor, they’re called, but Burr sees nothing honorable in what he is about to do. Hamilton has poisoned his goals, working his way into Burr’s veins until his blood is replaced with boiling hatred for the man he once had loved. Time, he supposes, changes people. He sets quill to paper, watches as it stutters across the page and splatters ink where it catches. One phrase, and it will be over. Burr writes it— _demand satisfaction_ —and prepares himself for the world to burn.

x. When Hamilton aims for the sky, Burr aims at his chest. They shoot.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is [here](http://www.laffayettes.tumblr.com) and my history-specific blog is [here](http://www.john-andre.tumblr.com).
> 
> Leave a comment if you have anything you want to say, they keep me going!


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